Monica Crowley

Christmas 2008

I want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. May you have all of the blessings of the season.

Tracking Santa

NORAD is the joint American-Canadian military organization responsible for the aerospace and maritime defense of both countries. In addition to watching the skies and seas in order to keep us safe, NORAD performs a very special mission every Christmas Eve: The servicemen and women at NORAD track Santa's progress across the globe. If you want to watch Santa as he makes his way to your house this Christmas Eve, please click here:

www.NORADSanta.org

And have a very Merry Christmas!

Happy Bleeping Holidays!

On this day before Christmas Eve, Team Obama dumped its own "internal review" of its contacts with Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich, arrested several weeks ago on federal corruption charges for allegedly attempting to sell Obama's Senate seat.

Team Bama did its own "internal policing" of the matter, and folks assembled the details of their contacts with The Blago "from memory."

I hope their "memories" are good, because the U.S. Attorney investigating the case, Patrick Fitzgerald, has tapes. Lots of them.

According to their side of the story, current Illinois Congressman and The Bama's choice for Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, had "one or two" phone converations with The Blago about the Senate seat. They also discussed Emanuel's House seat (which he took over from The Blago when The Blago became Governor) and who might be a good replacement when The Rahm leaves Congress for the White House.

There were also "four" conversations between The Rahm and The Blago's Chief of Staff (also arrested with his boss), John Harris, about the Senate seat. "Mr. Emanuel---with the authorization of the President-Elect---gave Mr. Harris the names of four individuals whom the President-Elect considered to be highly qualified: Dan Hynes, Tammy Duckworth, Congresswoman Schakowsky, and Jesse Jackson, Jr." (There's "J Cubed" again!)

Note the key phrase: "With the authorization of the President-Elect."

Does any of this mean The Bama or people on his team did anything wrong? No. But this is THEIR Cover Our Tushies Report.

The Fitz might have other things to say about The Bama, The Blago, and The Rahm.

He had his prosecutors interview The Bama last week.

Remember that The Fitz is known for one, big specialty:

Setting perjury traps.

As The Blago might say: "Merry Bleeping Christmas."

The New York Times---or The Onion?

For decades, the pages of The New York Times have been filled with some of the most irreponsible journalism in the lamestream media. It has gotten particularly vitriolic and biased, however, over the past eight years. The editorials and reportage about President Bush have been blindly and raucously vicious, unfair, and completely corrosive to a Commander-in-Chief in wartime. Today, The Times ran a front page story headlined, "The Reckoning: White House Philosophy Stoked Mortgage Bonfire." It argues that President Bush alone is responsible for the housing meltdown, based on his policy to "spread the dream of home ownership...(which) he so ardently championed." To be sure, President Bush pushed home ownership to those who couldn't carry it financially, and he bears some responsibility for the mess. But ALL of the responsibility?? Nowhere in this lengthy piece did the Times writers mention the Community Re-investment Act, signed into law by Jimmy "My Name Is Earl" Carter, which encouraged commercial banks and savings associations to hand out home loans like candy to low and moderate income folks. The Act was updated and expanded under the Clinton administration. No mention of that in the piece either. No mention of Jesse Jackson and other so-called "civil rights" leaders shaking down banks to make sure they gave loans to people who couldn't afford them. No mention of the utter failure of the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Chris Dodd, to do even basic oversight on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and other institutions in his purview who were going hog-wild with subprime mortgages. No mention of the complete negligence of the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank, who said just months ago that Fannie and Freddie were doing fine, even as they were clearly the virus setting off the economic contagion. No mention of how ANY of these Democrats mandated this nightmare through their irresponsible regulation, ridiculous social engineering, failure to do oversight, and remaining at the trough pigging out on campaign contributions from these organizations while the organizations pigged out on greed and corruption. It's funny----a long, long story like this, and no room to mention any of this. No, The Times, like every other lamestream media outlet, must stay invested in the "Bush is the Devil" storyline. There's no room in a lengthy story about the history of the policy Bush inherited, or the failures of those charged with overseeing it. Because they're Democrats, and that doesn't fit the storyline. The Times should change its motto to something a bit more truthful: "Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil-----unless it's about President Bush."

One Hope n' Change Sandwich, Hold the Change

When voters opted for Barack Obama for president, they were voting for Hope n' Change. Or so they thought.

So far, his much-vaunted Cabinet is made up mostly of Clinton and Carter-era retreads with nary an original thought among them. (If you liked Hillary in the West Wing, you'll love her at Foggy Bottom!)

But The Bama also promised a fresh start in terms of how politics is conducted: No Drama Obama wanted no Drama Queens or Kings, no baggage, no scandals, no lobbyist influence, no conflicts of interest, no grand juries, and certainly no Independent Counsels tagging along on his ride.

And yet, behold some of his choices:

Hillary Clinton, joined at the hip (albeit only symbolically, mind you) to her maniac husband, is going to have some 'splaining to do when she goes in for Senate confirmation. How is she, as the nation's top diplomat, going to be an even-handed broker in the Middle East (when The Bubba has gotten multi-millions from the Saudis and the Kuwaitis), between India and Pakistan (when The Bubba has gotten oodles of moolah from Indian interests), and Iraq (when The Bubba has gotten dough from Blackwater, recently found liable for several Iraqi civilian deaths)?

She and The Bubba wrote the book on conflicts of interest.

Then there's New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, whom The Bama has selected to be Commerce Secretary. Albuquerque's Jimmy Smits is now in the middle of a possible pay-for-play scandal, in which a company that received lucrative contracts from Richardson's administration gave lavishly to his political action committee.

There's also former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, The Bama's choice to be Agriculture Secretary. Now comes word that he is being looked into for lobbying on behalf of companies that have business before the Department he's supposed to head.

And then there's the Big Enchilada: the Rod Blagojevich pay-for-play scandal, which involves many people around The Bama, including his choice to be Chief of Staff, The Rahm Emanuel, a guy who wanted his Senate seat, Jesse Jackson, Jr. (or JJJ, or J cubed), and the convicted felon who's now singing to the Feds like Pavarotti in his prime, Tony Rezko.

Some of these issues are more serious than others, and all of these Bama people may survive all of this.

But it doesn't look good for the guy who promised everyone in America a Hope n' Change Sandwich.

Make that a Hope n' Change Sandwich, hold the Change. And on Day Old bread.

Cheech and Chong Do Washington

Put Down the Mountain Dew

Throughout the 2008 campaign, we heard many Democrats proclaim themselves the champions of the middle class. Barack Obama couldn't make a campaign stop without mentioning how the middle class was getting squeezed and how he was going to dole out tax cuts and all sorts of goodies to make sure the middle class was protected. Other Democrats had similar messages. The class warfare was less rich vs. poor than rich vs. middle class. Of course, the definition of "middle class" kept changing.

Now that the economic situation is growing more dire, some Democrats are proposing things to do exactly what they said they would not do: tighten the vise on the middle class.

Faced with a $12.5 billion deficit next year, New York Governor David Paterson took time out from criticizing "Saturday Night Live" for making fun of him to ready a budget proposal which he will unveil tomorrow.

To drum up cash, he is teeing up the following:

Higher gasoline taxes New taxes on clothing New taxes on health insurance Requiring new license plates

And my personal favorite: an "anti-obesity" tax on non-diet soda.

If you want a Diet Coke, no problem. If you want a Classic Coke, you're screwed. Wait, correction: According to New York State, you're fat AND you're screwed.

This is just the latest in a long line of encroachments by the government into our personal freedom. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has put into effect all kinds of intrusions, including banning transfats (there goes my tasty KFC) and putting a 6 cent surcharge on all plastic bags (there goes my efficient and waterproof schlepping). San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has banned plastic water bottles. Most cities and states have passed widespread smoking bans, instead of allowing individual establishments to determine whether or not to allow smoking.

And who can forget The Bama's campaign statement: "We can't drive our SUV's, you know, eat as much as we want, and keep our homes on, you know, 72 degrees at all times."

We can't? Nope! Not with the liberals in charge. You must adhere to the commands of the central government: You must drive what they want you to drive. You must eat what they tell you to eat. You must set your thermostat where they tell you to set it. You must stand in your assigned position on the sidewalk for state military parades. You must allow the government to open and read your mail. You must never speak ill of the government. They are there to help you be a better citizen of the Fatherland.

This is incremental fascism. It starts with plastic water bottles, moves on to non-diet soda, and ends with you in Orwellian chains of an oppressive nation-state.

It's time we demanded some of our freedoms back, and a reversal of those we've already lost.

It's time to tell The Bama and Governor Paterson and their ilk: "You want to tax my Mountain Dew? Hell, no!"

They Have the Time, The Time of Their Life

"Chicago, Chicago: that toddling town Chicago, Chicago: I will show you around --- I love it Bet your bottom dollar you'll lose the blues in Chicago, Chicago The town that Billy Sunday could not shut down."

--- "Chicago," performed by Frank Sinatra. Lyrics by Fred Fisher.

"You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way! And that's how you get Capone. Now you want to do that? Are you ready to do that? I'm offering you a deal. Do you want this deal?"

--- "Malone" (Sean Connery) in "The Untouchables."

With Friends Like These

For an honest, upstanding, man of integrity, Barack Obama has sure hung out with a lot of thugs: Bill Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, Tony Rezko, Rod Blagojevich, Rahm Emanuel, Jeremiah Wright, Michael Phleger, Emil Jones, the Jesse Jacksons, and Louis Farrakhan.

Those who support The Bama don't seem to have an issue with this motley assortment of convicts, domestic terrorists, bombers, anti-American haters, race hustlers, and sleazeballs.

It makes you wonder: what kind of friends WOULD he have to have for his supporters to be concerned?

I guess The Bama would have to be hanging with Osama bin Laden drinking Manischewitz.

And even then....

Where's Bogie When You Need Him?

Perhaps the most overused word surrounding the arrest of Illinois Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich was "shocked." Everyone was "shocked" by the arrest, "shocked" by the allegations, "shocked" by the wiretapped conversations, "shocked" by the threats against the Chicago Tribune, "shocked" by the brazen attempt at bribery.

Today's New York Times editorial led off with this: "We have seen a lot of political hubris, scratch-my-back politics, and sheer stupidity over the years. But nothing could prepare us for the charges brought Tuesday against Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois."

Huh?

"Nothing could prepare" the New York Times for this? Nothing??

It's Illinois! Hey, Times editorial board: where have you been for the last 100 years? No wonder you're going broke.

Barack Obama's own statement yesterday referred to a "sad day for Illinois."

A sad day for Illinois? No. It's a typical day for Illinois.

The Times ran another story today about the Governor, accompanied by a photo of Blagojevich on the left, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley on the right. And in the middle? Barack Obama.

And yet, Obama wants us to believe he came out of this machine cesspool as clean as a hound's tooth.

Something tells me that we'll be "shocked" to hear something about him someday.

Just as today, we're "shocked, shocked" that there's gambling going on in Casablanca.